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Eye Spy: Lost and Found
Description: The fourth book in the acclaimed John Newcastle series. There is an excerpt on the inside cover. Rarity: 110 Uses: Book Restocks at: Does not Restock Notes: This item can be obtained by opening a September 2011 Collection. Inside this book you can read the story of John Newcastle. Inside Story When John opened his eyes, the world was still swimming. He wouldn't have known that he had blacked out at all if the light filtering through the grimy warehouse windows hadn't taken on the golden hue of early evening. Glancing around himself, he was still on the floor in the makeshift sitting room, but a few things had changed: There was some kind of cushion under his head, and there was a dark jacket hung over the sofa next to a seated man. Oh, a man! John shot up, but was immediately struck with a wave of vertigo and found himself right back in his original position on the floor. "Welcome back, John." said the man on the sofa. Though his vision was still doubled, the two images came together for a moment into the shape of Lyle. "You know my name?" John asked, sitting up again, this time slowly. Lyle smiled in an odd way. "I went through your stuff," he said, and for the first time, John realized the coat on the sofa was his. He looked down at the rest of him, and found the rest of his right where he expected it to be, though he was surprised to see his shirt dotted with blood. Then he remember the little man, and being hit in the head. "So you and your little gremlin friend hit me in the head and strip me while I'm knocked out?" John quipped, one hand creeping up to gingerly feel his head. There was no lump or tenderness that he could find, and certainly not a cut. Lyle rose from the sofa and moved to John side, crouching beside him. "He's a redcap. And trust me, John, you're not pretty enough to go to the trouble of full nudity." He smiled charmingly, but it faded as he abruptly changed gears. "You're working for my dad." John had no reason to lie. "Yes. He's worried about you. He sent me to find you." Lyle laughed, though John couldn't see anything funny about it. "Well, you've found me, though I wasn't lost." Said Lyle, "Don't take me back." Flexing his arm, where he remembered being hit again as he fell to the floor, there was some stiffness, but no pain. Something wasn't right. He distinctly remembered the throbbing his his arm, the crack he swore her heard before he blacked out. "You're a grown man, Lyle. I can't take you anywhere." He tested his arm with his weight, then slowly got to his feet. His foot was still in pain, which he found somewhat comforting under the circumstances. Lyle rose with him, and followed him as he limped to the sofa to get his jacket. "Is my wallet still in here?" "What? With your sweet ten dollars? No, John, that was too much to resist. I stole it and spent it on hookers. They just left. If only you had woken up sooner." Lyle rolled his eyes. "So you won't tell me father?" "No, I said I wouldn't take you back. I am going to tell your father I found you, and I am going to tell him exactly where I found you." John shrugged on his coat, and felt around in the pockets. His wallet was there, though under inspection you could see that someone had been through it; All the cards were put back in the wrong places, and his loose change had been put into the zippered change pouch, rather than randomly strewn in the bill fold. "This is my job, Mr. Lovell." Lyle pounced on that. "If it's about money, I can pay you to keep quiet. My shut-up money is just as green as my father's tell-me money." But John was not so easily swayed, "It's not just the money. I am under contract by your father, and I am going to do the honorable thing and fulfil my obligation to him." "Well, what if you could keep your obligation to him? Just... Not yet. Like... Just pretend that you haven't seen me until next week. I don't know." John could see that Lyle was on the edge of tears. He knew that he should leave, but instead, John found himself sitting on the sofa, grateful to be off of his throbbing foot "Why is this so important to you, Mr. Lovell?" Lyle's handsome face broke into a smile of relief, obviously understanding that he was gaining some ground. He wiped his misty eyes with the back of his hand, and perched himself on the sideboard. "Call me Lyle, John." He paused for a long moment. "What I am about to say is in the strictest confidence, John. If you decided to go back to my father, and you tell him what I am about to tell you, it will put both of us in danger. Us and Martin. That's the redcap. The guy that hit you. He went for a walk. He doesn't trust you-" "Moving on." John prodded. "Right," said Lyle, and he continued. Category:Books Category:Donation Item Category:R110